Putin Hopes U.S.-Russia Ties Will Get Back on Track

Russian President Vladimir Putin says in a July 4 message to President Barack Obama that he hopes that the ties between the two countries will get back on track.

Relations between Moscow and Washington hit a post-Cold War low in 2014 when Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and threw its weight behind separatists in eastern Ukraine. The Kremlin, however, has recently sought to seek rapprochement with the United States.

In the Independence Day message released Monday by the Kremlin, Putin recalled the history of Russia-U.S. ties, saying that at one time the two countries were able to solve “the most difficult international problems to the benefit of both our nations and all humankind.” Putin expressed hope that this experience will help the two countries to get back working together.